In William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet the opposition of Benvolio and Tybalt is deeply emphasized because they serve as dramatic foil to each other, Tybalt demonstrates the good and evil natures that exist in man, thus proving that evil is a destructive force. Tybalt and Benvolio differ in terms of values, respect and trust, but both are similar in the sense that they fiercely support their family. Readers see Tybalt as a pugnacious person and Benvolio as a person who makes peace, just like the same sides of a magnet these two characters do not like each other.
Benvolio values peace and always tries to avoid fighting. An example is the Market scene when the servants from both house where fighting Benvolio says "I do but keep the peace: put up thy
...sword, or manage it to part these men with me” (Romeo and Juliet 1. 1 58-59). It is clearly visible that Benvolio is a peace maker. In contrast, Tybalt is portrayed as a hotheaded and pugnacious person who cannot resist the urge to fight. An instance is when Tybalt says in “and talk of peace! I hate the word as I hate hell, all Montagues, and thee" (Romeo and Juliet 1. 1 68-70).
This was said after Benvolio tried to invite peace amongst the families’ servants who started the fray but Tybalt refuses to help. Instead, he tries to fight Benvolio. These two examples show that one person (Benvolio) values peace and the other values war and hatred; in other words, with their various values aggression and peacemaking comes respect from their community. Although Tybalt and Benvolio are fro
prestigious families in Verona, they are both respected and trusted by the society in different ways.
Tybalt, with his brutality and love for fights is less trusted by the community. An example would be "Be quiet... For shame... I'll make you quiet" (Romeo and Juliet 1. 5. 86-87). The quote was said by Lord Capulet when he told Tybalt not to fight Romeo; this is an excellent example that shows us that Lord Capulet does not trust Tybalt and has to order him to stop what he wants to do. In contrast, Benvolio is trusted and respected by the community.
The situation can be described by the following quote "Benvolio, who began this bloody fray? " (Romeo and Juliet 2. 5. 150) The quote was said after Romeo and Tybalt fight, where Romeo kills Tybalt and Prince Escalus arrives at the scene. Amongst all the people present at the scene, the Prince only requested Benvolio to tell the truth that is an excellent example that shows the readers that the community has respect and trust towards Benvolio. Although, trust and respect is important, a thing that is far more important is family loyalty.
Although many people see that Tybalt as a bad man and Benvolio, is a kind and trust-able man, the fact is, that they are quite similar in terms of Family Loyalty. Family is actually quite important to Tybalt. It is shown at the Capulet’s feast when he says "It fits, when such a villain is a guest. I'll not endure him! " (Romeo and Juliet 1. 5 75-76). This was said when Tybalt sees Romeo at the Capulet Party,
because he wanted to take revenge after the Market fight, Thinking that Romeo has come to taunt them about it.
Although it might sound like aggression, it has a lot of family loyalty behind it, because he knows that if the Capulet’s and the Montagues fight again, the Prince will punish the victims by death. He does not care because Romeo is trespassing by coming to the Capulet’s house. And because of his loyalty to the Capulet’s he was about to do anything he can to kill Romeo. Benvolio is also similar in the fact that he cares a lot about his family members especially Romeo.
An example of Benvolio’s loyalty was portrayed in the quote "sad hours seem long" and "... What sadness lengthen Romeo's hours? " (Romeo and Juliet 1. 1. 158-160) This is said when Lord and Lady Montague were worried about Romeo and they told Benvolio to help them search for Romeo. Benvolio senses the sadness of Romeo and tries to help Romeo solve his problem. These examples clearly show that Tybalt and Benvolio both agree in terms of family loyalty. To recapitulate Although Tybalt and Benvolio are dissimilar in terms of respect, trust and values they are quite similar in terms of family loyalty.
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